Appetizers

Roasted Cauliflower & Pepper Soup

Posted by iavogoodmeal on

If you search cauliflower in our blog, you’ll find our obsession is real: tacos, buffalo cauliflower, szechuan style and even falafels. Well this is our first foray into the world of cauliflower soup and this one is a winner! Roasting the cauliflower first brings out the depth of flavor and some caramel notes in the soup. Add in the smokiness of roasted peppers to that and you have the perfect winter time soup! 

While the recipe calls for milk to thin out the soup, you can easily skip it and use additional vegetable stock to make the recipe vegan (just sub vegan butter!). This soup also freezes great so we love to prep it in individual containers that we quickly reheat, sprinkle with crispy fried onions and serve with grilled cheese!

Tips & Tricks

  • This is a perfect fall-themed soup so feel free to add any other seasonal veggies you might like to blend in this mix such as carrots, sweet potato, kabocha squash
  • To easily peel the skin off the roasted peppers, cover them with plastic wrap and let cool – the skins should then just slide off. You want to do this step to avoid any stringy, gritty pieces in the soup
  • Save a couple of pieces of the roasted cauliflower for garnishing the soup! 

Recipe Information

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 Cauliflower head cut into florets.
  • 1-2 Red/Orange/Yellow Bell Pepper, cut in half
  • 1 Onion, diced
  • 1-2 Jalapeños or Serranos, seeded and diced depending on your spice level
  • 1 tsp Trader Joe’s Vegan Chicken-less Seasoning Salt Blend
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp nutmeg
  • 2 cubes frozen garlic Garlic
  • Salt/Pepper to taste 
  • 1 tbsp flour
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 cups vegetable stock
  • Whole Milk  or cream

Directions

  1. Roasting Cauliflower:
    • Set oven to 400F.
    • Spread cauliflower on a baking tray and coat/toss in olive oil
    • Bake for 20 minutes and then rotate the cauliflower and back another 20 minutes until they are roasted to your liking….they should have some browning on the edges
    • Set aside once baked.
  2. Roasting Bell Pepper:
    • You can bake it same time as above.
    • Cut pepper in half and remove seeds
    • Coat pepper in some olive oil and bake in oven for 30 minutes until it has a roasted look
    • Remove from oven, place in a dish, cover with plastic wrap or lid and allow to sit for 15 minutes to cool
    • Skin should peel off easily leaving a nice roasted pepper
    • Dice roasted pepper and set aside
  3. Soup:
    • Cook onions and jalapenos/serranos
    • Add garlic
    • Add 2 tablespoons butter and melt
    • Add 1 tablespoon flour to make a roux
    • Add 2 cups of vegetable stock, add veggies, add spices to taste
    • You may need to add more vegetable stock as things cook
    • Simmer on low for 20-30 minutes for flavors to emerge
    • Using an immersion blender, blend to a soup consistency
    • It may be thick, so you can add more stock or milk to thin slighly
    • Add salt and pepper to season and cook on low for another 3-5 minutes
    • If you would rather blend (no immersion blender), then allow the mixture to cool before placing in a blender and blending to a soup consistancy
    • Best flavors will emerge after 24 hours in the fridge.